The Sorcerer's Dragon
by Euphoria994
Summary: When a young man with a troubled past finds himself in the land of Vikings, he will make both friends and foes alike, and help to resolve the conflicts that still remain with the strange creatures known as dragons. But it's tough to adjust when you also have an insane and malicious being chasing you, seeking revenge on those who wronged him...
1. Desperate Times, Worse Measures

Chapter 1 - Desperate Times, Worse Measures

He pushed his way through the thick underbrush of the forest, his eyes struggling to see through the darkness. Streams of light from the full moon overhead peered through the branches above him, but it was still so dark that he may as well have run with his eyes closed. Every now and then he would trip over something and crash painfully to the forest floor, happening so often that he now mentally prepared himself for it without realizing. But every time he did, he would get right back up, shake it off, and continue running.

He had run for what felt like hours, as his body didn't hesitate to remind him. His legs burned, his muscles ached, and a familiar stitch on his left side had returned with a vengeance. Still, like the occasional face plant on the unforgiving ground, he had grown used to it. Just like the chill of the wind that stung his face, or the thin tree branches that he ran into, which left red marks all across his cheeks.

Suddenly, after forcing his way through a particularly thick patch of brush, he found himself in a clearing. The moon illuminated the entire space, showing a much different picture than the mess of tree silhouettes rushing by when he had run through the darkness. For a moment, he stood there, wondering if he should keep going or stop and rest for the night. The air was cool, the ground was soft, and there was a soft breeze making its way through the forest.

Yes, this was where he would rest. And with that thought, he collapsed to the ground, spreading out on the cool grass. His whole body quickly filled with conflicting feelings of pain and relief. Pain from what felt like every muscle in his body burning with exhaustion, and relief from the fact that he was no longer forcing them to keep moving. The sound of his own heavy panting filled his ears, his chest burning from the feeling of the fresh cold air making its way though his lungs. Sweat poured down from everywhere it could, the unpleasant smell of his unwashed, tired body entering his nostrils. His clothes clung to his body, damp with sweat, with dark patches of dirt and bits of greenery hanging off of them.

And yet, for the next few moments that he laid there, he couldn't help but feel better than he had been in a while.

With a grunt, he flipped himself over to his back, looking up into the night sky. It was cloudy, but just slightly, so the moon was still visible. It's light illuminated the entire clearing, a far cry from the black that was the interior of the forest.

He closed his eyes. It was quiet, the only sound being the gentle rustling of leaves as the wind passed through them. He turned his face towards the wind, liking the feeling of it blowing across his forehead. It almost felt like a hand was gently caressing it. It reminded him of when Fayre would...

He stopped. Quickly, he reached down into his dirty and tattered coat, a look of fear appearing on his face when he realizing there was nothing in it. He sat upright, patting himself down, his panic increasing with every second that went by. After hurriedly checking and double-checking, he stood up and began examining the ground.

Barely a minute had passed before he out a gasp at the sight of it. A small parcel wrapped in a brown, furry material, being held to it by a white, ragged piece of string. It must have slipped out of his coat when he had thrown himself on the grass. Looking into his coat, he saw that one of the pockets was barely hanging by a few stitches; he would have to fix that later.

He walked over to the parcel and stood over it, suspicion clear on his expression. Slowly, he bent down, hand outstretched to pick it up. He paused for a moment, his hand hovering just over the parcel. Slowly, he wrapped his fingers around the furry exterior and lifted it off the ground. He let out a sigh, and brought a hand up to wipe the sweat off his brow.

As soon as his sleeve touched his head, a bitter and metallic smell suddenly hit his nostrils. Surprised, he brought his arm down to eye level. A dark red patch stained his entire left sleeve, a wet line running down the center of it. Along with that, a painful stinging sensation was now affecting his arm. He rolled his sleeve up, revealing a deep cut that ran down from his wrist to just below his shoulder, blood seeping out from it.

"Not again." he groaned, pulling his sleeve back over the wound and pressing down on it, tying to stop the bleeding. He walked over to a large tree towards the edge of the clearing, sitting down against the base of the trunk. He set the parcel cautiously on his lap, and then, after taking another breath, he rolled his sleeve back up.

Blood was everywhere. By the light of the moon, he could see that it was not just his sleeve and arm discolored from the wound. The entire left side of his weathered brown coat was almost crimson from the amount of dried blood on it. His belt, normally a beige color, was now half pink, with some blood staining the buckle. His dark blue pants looked like they had escaped the worst of it; either that or the blood had dried and was too now dark to see. Even his black boots had a dark red tint to them.

Suddenly, a feeling of dizziness overcame him, and he almost fell over by the strength of it. Quickly, he leaned back against the trunk and began to take deep breaths, suddenly realizing just how dry his mouth was. Being exhausted, thirsty, and injured wasn't a good condition for him, and considering how much blood he had lost; he needed to do something…quick.

But what could he do? He was alone in the middle of nowhere, with no supplies, and with no one else around to help him. Of course, that had been the case for a while now, but it was rare that he found himself feeling so helpless. Lost, alone, and slowly dying. He didn't want to die…or did he? For what was the point of going on anyway? Even if he did manage to find a way out of this, what was it all for?

Then it hit him. He did have a way out of this…and it was sitting right in front of him, on his lap.

He looked down at the parcel, his look of desperation slowly becoming one of nervousness. An internal conflict was happening within him as he thought about whether he should use it or not. Unfortunately, trying to think clearly while light-headed was not the easiest thing to do. He looked down at his arm again, finding it hard to focus his eyes on the blood flowing out of it.

If he was going to use it, it was now or never.

He grabbed the parcel, took another breath, more for his anxiety than his body, and carefully untied the strings that bound the parcel. He put them aside and began slowly unwrapping the soft leather. At first, he was slow and deliberate, already wanting to stop what he was doing. However, a quick jolt of pain ran down his arm, which made his decision to use it final. When he finished removed the coverings, he looked at what it had contained.

It was a book.

A dark green cover adorned its face, along with an orb-like protrusion filled with white fog. Its spine had black ridges, and as he turned the book every which way, a glimpse of a dark blue cover on the back and a similar white fog filled orb met his eyes. In between the differently colored covers sat rows of grainy yellow parchment.

A terrified expression ran across his features and his whole body quivered with barely contained panic. Clearing his throat, which caused a twinge of pain in his dry mouth, he spoke.

"I need help." he said, staring directly at the book.

Nothing happened. He shook his head. It was getting harder to focus.

"I know I usually don't ask for your...assistance, but right now, I-I really need it." he said, desperation beginning to enter his voice.

Nothing happened. He felt a jolt of pain run up his arm, but it felt numb, like his body was refusing to acknowledge it.

"I know you can hear me, so...look I'm sorry!" he almost yelled, his face barely an inch from the book's cover.

Nothing happened. Tears began to well up in his eyes, his desperation reaching its peak. The air was still, but overhead, a cloud moved in front of the moon, blocking the only source of light in the forest.

"PLEASE!" he cried, slumping back against the tree, his body getting weaker with every breath he took. "I…I never wanted to…I don't wanna…"

He clutched the book to his chest, closing his eyes as pain and exhaustion began to overtake him. Tears ran down from his now bloodshot eyes as he leaned forward, his forehead resting on the book.

"Fayre…" he whispered. "…help me."

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**


	2. The Lost and the Found

The Sorcerer's Dragon Chapter 2

The lake was still as the sun rose, only disturbed by the marine life that lived inside it leaping out of the water every now and again. The grass shimmered with fresh cold dew, which contrasted with the dry rocky shore that bordered the lake. The trees that surrounded the area were just as still as the water, their leaves bristling from the occasional breeze. It was a hallmark of undisturbed nature.

Then suddenly, a Night Fury appeared out of the sky, flying down towards the lake. As it neared the water, it turned up quickly, barely missing it, leaving ripples in its wake as it headed towards the shore. It slowed as it touched upon the ground, skidding a little before coming to a stop. Turning around, it turned and lapped at the lake's water, taking a drink from its long flight. Its dark violet scales glistened slightly, expansive wings retracting into its back. Then, it stopped drinking, and just looked at its own reflection in the water, it's own tired expression reflecting back at it. A small growl came from the creature's stomach, the frills on its face quivering as it winced in pain.

"Rai's gonna kill me." it said, voice soft and feminine. "Damn it, Kaireen, what were you thinking?" she said to herself, shaking her head.

"You weren't thinking at all." another voice said from behind her. She whipped around, laying eyes on an almost mirror image of herself, except this creature had dark green scales, and an accusing glare on its expression. "At least, not of me, that's for certain." he continued, face turning mockingly thoughtful for a second before returning to glare at her.

She stood there blankly, not knowing what to say. Another loud growl came from her stomach, which didn't help her situation or mood at all as Rai's glare deepened. It was at that moment that she humphed and glared right back at him. "You know what, Rai? I don't have time to deal with this. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and...just leave me alone." she snapped.

"Oh. Ok, sure. I'll leave you alone. I was only worried sick about you, and wondering when you'd come back!" Rai yelled. Then he turned and stormed off into the forest. "I'm gonna go give that queen of ours a piece of my mind if you don't want to talk." he yelled over his shoulder.

"No, Rai, please!" Kaireen cried, her anger turning to worry as she chased after him. He didn't stop, his back still to her as he picked up into a run and his wings spread, ready to take off into the sky. Kaireen knew she wouldn't be able to follow him if he took off, so she did the only thing she could think of.

"I'm sorry!" she cried, stopping as her exhaustion caught up with her, looking helplessly at him. Rai stopped at her words, wings frozen in mid-flap.

Kaireen's heart leaped, glad that he had stopped to hear her out. "I'm sorry, Rai. I...I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you like that." she said. "I shouldn't have kept you waiting...please believe me, I wouldn't have been gone for so long if I didn't had a reason."

"Reason being?" Rai asked, wings retracting as he turned to face her again, looking suspicious.

"I was gone because...well, because...I..." she stammered, thinking about how best to explain. "Look, it was really bad raid last night. A few dragons got captured...a couple were killed."

Rai's eyes widened. "Who was it this time?" he asked, now looking worried. "Morin? Tenn?"

Kaireen sighed. "No..." she said sadly. "Nan."

Rai looked as though he wanted to scream. "Nan?" he said in disbelief. "Like, 'the one who raised us' Nan?"

"Do you know any others?" Kaireen answered, looking away. "I wanted to rescue her, but I hadn't seen her until we were nearly done, and by then they were dragging her away. I was tired, and there were so many around her..."

"Was she alive?" Rai asked. Kaireen fell silent, but her expression told Rai everything he wanted to know. There was a small pause between the two. Then Kaireen let out another sigh, and Rai noticed her eyes beginning to water. He walked over to Kaireen, nuzzling her.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you sis. I didn't realize...I shouldn't have just... Kaireen nuzzled her brother back, and he stopped talking. For a few moments, both dragons just stood there, brother and sister sharing in grief. Then Kaireen's stomach grumbled yet again.

"I take it you're hungry?" Rai said, smiling warmly, eager to find some way to comfort Kaireen beyond simple intimacy, and also make up for his angry greeting.

"Yeah." Kaireen answered, lowering her head slightly in embarrassment from her stomach ruining the nice moment between the two.

"I'll be back in a sec." Rai said, before taking off towards the lake. Kaireen smiled and began walking back towards the lake's shore, feeling a lot better than when she had first arrived.

She lay down on her front as Rai dived repeatedly towards the lake, watching as his mouth filled with fish that he swallowed whole. A moment later, it seemed he had gotten full, for he started to fill his maw with as many fish as he could hold. When he was done, he flew down next to her, smiling at her with a jaw full of fish. He put them down in front of her, then his eyes went wide as he began to cough and hack violently, as if he was choking. Then a fish was spat out of his throat, along with another, and another...

A minute later, a rather respectable pile of salmon lay in front of the purple Night Fury, who looked appreciatively at her brother, who simply nodded and said. "Dig in."

She did so in an instant, and for a few moments, Rai watched Kaireen eat the breakfast he had provided.

"Man, you must've really been starving." Rai said. "Didn't you eat before the raid at least?"

"Nuh tim." Kaireen said, not even bothering to look up as she swallowed another fish. "Queen gut hongri lat nigh, hah tuh leaf."

"Yeah, I know, I realized it when I woke up and saw you weren't there anymore." Rai said, annoyed. "Would it have killed you to give me a tap on the wing or something?"

"Surri." Kaireen said, feeling a pang of guilt go through her. She let the fish in her mouth slide down her throat, clearing it. "Sorry, I would've told you if I thought I would've been gone long. I didn't even know it was a raid at first. I went over when I heard the Queen...well, crying." she said.

"Wait. The Queen was crying?" Rai asked, looking at her in disbelief. "Why didn't I hear this?"

Kaireen smirked. "Rai, you can sleep through anything. Remember that one time with Ninka?"

Rai cringed. "Don't remind me." Then he looked thoughtful again. "So, the Queen was crying...that's odd, to say the least."

Kaireen swallowed another fish. "I know, it was very weird. I almost didn't believe it myself, but I flew with a few other dragons to check on her, and yeah, we could hear her wailing about something."

"Hunger?" Rai guessed.

"No, if that had been it, you would've woken up to that for sure." Kaireen said. "You know how loud she gets."

"Then what was it?" Rai asked.

"I don't know." Kaireen answered, reaching down and grabbing another fish to swallow. "I could barely make out anything. It sounded a bit like she had..." she thought for a moment, "...lost something, or someone."

Rai was confused. "What the hell could a giant bitch like her have lost? She have a favorite rock she liked to look at?"

Kaireen chuckled a bit as she downed yet another fish. "I actually did try to ask her."

"About the rock?" Rai asked in bewilderment.

"No, stupid, about what she was crying about." Kaireen said. "But when I finally got her attention, she wasn't happy. She hollered at us to get her some food, but I bet that was more to get us out of there, cause by the time we came back, she was already sleeping again."

Rai stared. Then he turned angry. "So she sends everyone, including you and Nan out so she can be alone? And Nan died for no reason?That just...that bitch!" he yelled, and he turned and fired a blue ball of fire at the lake, where it streaked across to hit the opposite end the shore to leave a black scorch mark. "I should've gone!"

Kaireen downed the last of her breakfast, then stood and walked to her growling sibling. "I know it's tough Rai...it sucks having to stay here while the rest of us raid."

"I just don't understand why the Queen makes me stay. I can fly just fine, I'm just as capable as you." he said, his wings quivering in place, ready to take off.

Kaireen felt another pang of guilt go through her, this one unrelated to having left Rai alone. She knew why Rai wasn't allowed to leave the nest, but if she told him, he wouldn't understand.

Rai was on the verge of angry tears. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't just leave Kaireen."

Kaireen smiled up at her upset brother, then she nuzzled her snout into his neck lovingly. Rai froze, eyes wide, then he nuzzled her back, bringing his head around hers.

...

"Kholm..."

He heard her voice.

"...wake up."

No, it couldn't be her voice. She was...

"Get up Kholm."

She sounded urgent. Why was she so...wait, no, she couldn't be alive. Who was...

"He is coming."

Kholm's eyes shot open, then quickly closed again due to the morning light shining in his face. He groaned in pain and lifted himself off the ground, brushing off the small leaves and bits of dirt that stuck to his cheek. Blinking a couple times to clear the spots out of his vision, he looked around the area, finding that he was still in the same place as when he had passed out. He sighed in disappointment as he realized he was also still alone. Leaning his head back against the tree, he took a breath, and shook his head.

"Keep it together Kholm." he told himself. "She's gone. You know that."

Suddenly, a thump sounded next to him, and he instantly turned to see the book laying there. He stared at it suspiciously, knowing it had just closed itself. Then suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw his wounded arm...which was no longer wounded.

He brought a hand over to feel it, not believing what he was seeing. His clothing was still ripped and bloody, but otherwise his arm looked fine, nary a hair out of place. The only thing he could see was a slight scar that was barely visible, that ran down from his wrist to near his shoulder.

For a moment, he just sat there, wondering how this could have happened. Then he looks down at the book again, understanding entering his expression.

"Thank you." he said gratefully.

Like before, there was no response.

He smiled, then reached down and grabbed the book, putting it inside his coat. Having secured it there, he then examined the torn sleeve of his coat again. With a look of determination, he raised it in front of him, then brought his other hand over it. A white glow came from it, and at first, nothing happened. Then slowly, the small loose threads of the cloth came alive and began intertwining with each other. They moved liked snakes, wrapping themselves together, forming bigger threads that continued to do their work. All the while, Kholm concentrated hard, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. It wasn't long before the the sleeve finally connected the last thread, looking good as new. Kholm threw himself back against the tree, taking in a breath of air, exhausted from the effort.

"Nice job, Kholm." a cheerful voice said from above, making Kholm's heart stop. "I'm sure Fayre would be very proud of you. Not me though...I have standards." it said, letting out a chuckle. "Here, allow me to show you some REAL magic."

Kholm looked up, just in time to see a ball of red light heading towards him.

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**


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